Lincoln Hills had history of not notifying parents, others of assaults

In repeated cases stretching back at least four years, state officials now admit they don’t know whether anyone bothered telling parents and local officials about assaults on teenagers at the troubled juvenile prison Lincoln Hills School for Boys. Credit: Mark Hoffman

Madison— In repeated cases stretching back at least four years, state officials now admit they don't know whether anyone bothered telling parents and local officials about assaults on teenagers at a troubled prison — a systemic failure that Gov. Scott Walker's administration initially blamed on front-line staff alone.

Since at least February 2012, state officials at the highest levels have known of attacks and sexual assaults at Lincoln Hills School for Boys without either contacting or fully disclosing the details to county officials, family members of victims and even law enforcement.

The pattern of not sharing glaring problems continued for years, according to leaders in two counties, state officials, former Lincoln Hills staff and a parent of a juvenile inmate. Meaningful change came only after the public learned late last year of a massive federal and state investigation at the Northwoods prison and the sister facility on its campus, Copper Lake School for Girls.

Yet so far, the Walker administration has pinned the problems on rank-and-file workers, assigning no blame to top officials even as Secretary Ed Wall and other leaders are shuffled out the door at the state Department of Corrections. Last month, new leadership quietly put in place a stronger reporting policy for assaults and other incidents at the prisons, where most inmates are minorities.

Jim Moeser, a former head of the state's juvenile corrections division, said the repeated problems can't be explained away by simply blaming low-level workers. Under the state's own policies, it was the responsibility of supervisors, not line staff, to notify parents, police and county child protective services.

"Front-line staff should report these things (to bosses)," said Moeser, who is now the deputy director of the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families. "But to hold them as a scapegoat, it just seems inappropriate."

It was the supervisors and prison administrators who were responsible for ensuring that Milwaukee County officials and parents were told about incidents in which juvenile inmates had arms or wrists broken. Instead, Milwaukee County found out about them in the fall of 2014 from an anonymous tipster.

"Prior to the news breaking in December (2015), the county was not notified of any incident that happened at Lincoln Hills or Copper Lake" since 2011, said Melissa Baldauff, a spokeswoman for Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele. "Since then, the state has started notifying the (county) about any injuries or incidents."

Milwaukee County sends the greatest number of youths to Lincoln Hills.

Wall and other Department of Corrections officials have repeatedly taken credit for starting an internal investigation into Lincoln Hills in late 2014 and involving the state Department of Justice in the investigation in January 2015. But Department of Corrections spokesman Jeff Grothman in recent days acknowledged the internal investigation began at the behest of Milwaukee County.

That internal probe was started Nov. 10, 2014, after the state heard from Kent Lovern, Milwaukee County's chief deputy district attorney, Grothman said. The Department of Justice was brought in on Jan. 14, 2015.

Timothy Johnson, a Lincoln Hills youth counselor who recently resigned, said over his years at the institution he routinely saw inmate-on-inmate sexual assaults dealt with improperly, with parents and law enforcement often not informed.

"There were so many sexual assaults up there that I don't recall them all," Johnson said. "It happened so frequently in Douglas Cottage (for inmates) that they called them the Douglas Diddlers."

Johnson resigned in January after he was on paid leave for nearly a year for two incidents in which juveniles' arms were broken. Johnson denies any wrongdoing.

He said he was often frustrated by how sexual assaults were handled. In one case about 15 years ago, he said a juvenile promptly reported an assault and offered to provide DNA evidence. The perpetrator acknowledged he had a sexual encounter with the victim but no charges were pursued, Johnson said.

"The whole thing was either deliberately covered up or just messed up because of stupidity," he said. "It's hard to make the call because I've seen both."

Documents and interviews show a pattern at Lincoln Hills — state officials didn't tell or document telling parents and others about acts of violence inside the prison's walls:

■ The mother of one Racine County youth was not told the full story of her son's sexual assault and beating inside Lincoln Hills on Jan. 13, 2012. In addition, the state has no record of telling the family of the perpetrator at the time of the incident.

Neither the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office nor Racine County officials were told by prison officials about the crime. Deputies were told by emergency room staff and Racine County officials by another youth. The perpetrator was eventually convicted of battery and fourth-degree sexual assault.

Since December, state corrections officials and Walker have touted the administration's wide-ranging review of past incidents at the prison involving the use of force. But this 2012 sexual assault is not under review, agency spokeswoman Joy Staab said.

"In this 2012 incident, as I previously noted, front-line staff did not follow DOC protocols to promptly notify law enforcement and Racine County. DOC conducted remedial training to reinforce the importance of reporting information on a timely basis," Staab said in an email.

Despite that training and state officials' assurances to their Racine County counterparts, problems continued.

■ Prison officials abandoned the idea of pursuing charges against a juvenile inmate accused of sexually assaulting his roommate on March 15, 2013, even though one former Lincoln Hills supervisor believed they had a strong case.

Corrections officials have no record of whether the victim or perpetrator's parents were notified, Grothman said.

In that case, both the alleged perpetrator and alleged victim were placed in security, which is a form of discipline. The victim was put there for 22 days for "inappropriate sexual conduct" and sharpening the ends of the frames of his eyeglasses, according to the Department of Corrections.

James Townsend, the former supervisor, was fired a month after he conducted his investigation, in part because he refused to modify a report on his investigation at the request of his superiors.

■ In another incident on Nov. 13, 2014, involving an allegation of excessive force by staff, there is once again no record that the parents of the alleged victim were notified. Grothman said the youth was not taken to a hospital in that case.

■ In another incident involving alleged excessive force on Dec. 9, 2014, state officials say they tried three times to notify the parents of a youth that he was being taken to a hospital. They don't say if they succeeded.

One mother of a Lincoln Hills inmate has said she had learned of a physical attack on her son by another inmate in early 2015 and that she had contacted prison officials, who apologized for not telling her about it and promised to do so if it happened again.

But in the spring of 2015, the mother once again learned about an attack on her son without hearing about it from state officials. This time the woman was afraid to go back to them.

"It's so scary, because who do you turn to? You don't know how high up it goes," said the mother, who is not being named to avoid identifying the alleged victim.

Grothman said the state has taken action against a number of prison workers, including management. Thirty-six employees at the institution, among them five supervisors, have been put on paid leave since late 2014 while officials investigate possible violations of Department of Corrections policies. Of those, three have been fired, six have resigned or retired and five have returned to work.

Paul Westerhaus, the head of the state's juvenile corrections division, and John Ourada, the former superintendent of Lincoln Hills, also were forced out of their jobs late last year, though they were praised by Wall, the outgoing secretary, as recently as Nov. 20.

Since then, the prison's new leadership has strengthened the reporting process at Lincoln Hills for medical staff, social workers, security supervisors and prison leadership, Grothman said.

"Among the practices that have been significantly enhanced is the notification protocol to parents and counties, which increases accountability to staff who are responsible for notifying parents and/or counties," he said.

But Grothman wouldn't directly say whether supervisors had told staff to violate their own rules on notification.

Troy Bauch, who represents workers for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 32, said Lincoln Hills supervisors had fostered "an environment that was illegal and immoral."

"What they called a few rogue staff has resulted in more than 20 people being put on leave. There's more and more evidence coming out that the actions of the line staff were done with the knowledge and direction of the administration," Bauch said.

Senate Minority Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse), who met on Wednesday with incoming Corrections Secretary Jon Litscher, called for legislative hearings to ensure that the state has the right staffing levels and plans to address the crisis.

"It just weighs on me," Shilling said of the allegations of juvenile abuse. "It makes me sick."

About Jason Stein

Jason Stein covers the state Capitol and is the author with his colleague Patrick Marley of "More than They Bargained For: Scott Walker, Unions and the Fight for Wisconsin." His work has been recognized by journalism groups such as the American Society of News Editors, the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, and the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors.

About Patrick Marley

Patrick Marley covers state government and state politics. He is the author, with Journal Sentinel reporter Jason Stein, of "More Than They Bargained For: Scott Walker, Unions and the Fight for Wisconsin.”